MacTech Blog

Mar 19

Full-screen smartphones will rule this year

According to WitsView, a division of the TrendForce (www.trendforce) research group, full-screen smartphones will become the trend in market this year. The pursuit of narrower bezels and notch designs has emerged, bringing about solutions of under-display fingerprint sensor and applications combining camera modules and facial recognition.

According to Boyce Fan, research director of WitsView, full-screen smartphones have become the focus of market since 2017. The new models launched by Apple and Samsung have led to designs of higher screen-to-body ratio. Smartphone brands will be changing the overall appearance of their devices as a way to upgrade hardware specifications, especially in the situation that smartphone market goes saturated and replacement purchases decrease.

In addition to Samsung, LG Electronic and many Chinese brands who already have active layout, even Sony, who tends to be more conservative...

The worldwide server market continued to grow through 2017 as worldwide server revenue increased 25.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017, while shipments grew 8.8 percent year over year, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). In all of 2017, worldwide server shipments grew 3.1% and server revenue increased 10.4% compared with full-year 2016, adds the research group.

"Server growth was driven by relatively strong economies for the quarter across the globe," said Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice president at Gartner. "This was a somewhat surprising quarter because the strength was exhibited in a variety of positive server shipment and revenue mixes in almost all geographies.”

Dell EMC and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) were neck-and-neck in the worldwide server market based on revenue in the fourth quarter of 2017. Dell EMC ended the year in the No. 1 spot with 19.4% market share, followed closely by HPE...

Moosylvania (https://moosylvania.com/), a brand building agency, recently asked consumers from 18-38, how they’re relating to their favorite brands – and on which channels they connect.

“We know they are on the channels talking with their friends. What we want to know is how and where they are connecting with their favorite brands,” said CEO Norty Cohen.

The average millennial checks their phone more than 150 times per day – but how often and where are they checking in with their favorite brands? Moosylvania asked consumers, via a mobile-only survey, in January of 2018 was, “You’ve just told us your favorite brand – how do you connect with them on your smartphone?”
The survey compared reactions from 2017 to 2018 and saw significant changes within just 12 months.

“The big news is the change on Facebook – down from 52% to 40% with younger millennials (17-27) and from 48% to 33% (28-38)...

Per Amr Ibrahim, CEO of ULTATEL (https://www.ultatel.com), which makes telecom solutions for businesses and service providers, says that, by 2020, 50% of all workers will be working remotely.

Currently, 3.7 million employees work from home at least 50% of the time. Since 2005, the remote worker population has increased by 115%, almost 10x more than the rest of the workforce. Up to 90% of the workforce reports that working remotely 2-3 days a week is ideal, with most believing remote work to be the right balance for concentrative work away from the office, as well as collaborative work at the office. Ibrahim says a vital component to making remote work possible is the Cloud.

"Cloud-based technology is allowing workers to access their information and customer base from anywhere at any time and is imperative for working remotely both now and in the future,” he says.

Online services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have transformed the video business in recent years, but according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com), revenue increases will be even higher in the next four years than in the previous four years.

The research group concludes that global video revenues, including online, physical media and advertising, reached $70.2 billion in 2017, an increase of $29.4 billion since 2013. Over the next four years the increase in dollars, $36.3 billion, will be even greater, taking total industry revenues to $106.5 billion in 2021.
Other key findings from the research include:

° In 2017 online revenues, including consumer spending and advertising, accounted for 84% of the total video market, compared to 52% in 2013.

° Subscription VOD revenues rose by more than a third in 2017 and are forecast to...

Citizen engagement is critical to the success of smart cities, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). Smart city initiatives are no longer about optimized traffic patterns, parking management, efficient lighting and improvements to public works, says the research group.

"The way forward today is a community-driven, bottom-up approach where citizens are an integral part of designing and developing smart cities, and not a top-down policy with city leaders focusing on technology platforms alone," said Bettina Tratz-Ryan research vice president at Gartner.

For smart citizens the focus is not just about the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and smart machines, but the enhancement of services and experience. Therefore, citizen-government dialogue is a key component that will ensure that the right issues are tackled.

SonicWall (www.sonicwall.com), a security partner protecting more than one million networks worldwide, has announced research and intelligence from its 2018 Cyber Threat Report. In sum, the company recorded 9.32 billion malware attacks in 2017 and saw more than 12,500 new Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) reported for the year.

“The cyber arms race affects every government, business, organization and individual. It cannot be won by any one of us,” said SonicWall CEO Bill Conner. “Our latest proprietary data and findings show a series of strategic attacks and countermeasures as the cyber arms race continues to escalate. By sharing actionable intelligence, we collectively improve our business and security postures against today’s most malicious threats and criminals.”

The annual threat report frames, compares and contrasts advances made by both cybersecurity professionals and global...

Globally, 4K UHD technology is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.5% through 2022, according to a new report from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).

Ultra-high definition is the term used for resolutions over HD (1080p). It includes both 4K and 8K screen resolutions. However, Research and Markets’ report only includes 4K technology, which has garnered far more acceptance and popularity among end users.

4K UHD has witnessed a significant price drop and increased innovation in terms of screen size. This has led to a significant rise in the demand for 4K UHD televisions. The market for 4K UHD is segmented on the basis of screen size, screen technology and end use. In terms of screen size, the market is segmented into screens that are less than 40 inches, 40-49 inches, 50-60 inches, 60-65 inches and 70+ inches.

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that global hardware sales revenue from BMI (brain machine interfaces) will reach $19 billion per annum by 2027, up from an estimated $2.4 billion in 2018. BMIs bridge the gap between technology and the brain, interpreting brain signals for the purpose of interpretation or control.

The research group found that medical uses will account for 78% of shipment revenues by 2027. This will be due to development of advanced medical uses, such as artificial vision and prosthetic control.

Juniper says the greatest impact of BMIs will be when used for concentration monitoring, where EEG (Electroencephalogram) technology can be leveraged to monitor fatigue. This is crucial for industrial businesses, which strive to improve safety and productivity. The research group says t heavy industry will use EEG to replace more expensive existing...

Narrative Science (www.narrativescience.com), which specializes in Natural Language Generation (NLG) for the enterprise, has released its 2018 State of Business Intelligence (BI) Reporting research report, which highlights the challenges and opportunities in current data analysis and reporting processes facing businesses.

The research report surveyed hundreds of BI report authors, BI administrators, and business decision-makers, unveiling the following findings on why adoption remains low:

° It’s too time-consuming:

° Almost two thirds of analysts surveyed responded that more than half of their weekly activities are dedicated to manual reporting tasks;

° There’s not enough context:
° A majority of business decision-makers cite their biggest pain point is that reports include “what” happened but lack explanations on the “why.” Excel ranks as the primary way this group...

According to research findings released by NTT DATA Services (nttdataservices.com), which specializes in global technology services, U.S. healthcare consumers want simple and reliable digital interactions for routine transactions, such as filling prescriptions, accessing test results and making doctor appointments. In fact, 59% of U.S. consumers expect their healthcare digital customer experience (DCX) to be similar to retail.

Consumer expectations for healthcare providers and insurers are being shaped by other industries, and they want their digital experiences to more closely mirror interactions with major online retailers, such as Amazon, Apple and Southwest Airlines.

“Consumer-focused brands with rich, engaging content, interactions and features have changed the landscape in digital customer experience, and healthcare is lagging behind,” said Alan Hughes of NTT DATA Services. “As patients seek seamless care to bring together services related to diagnosis,...

The worldwide Ethernet switch market recorded $6.9 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17), an increase of 3.2% year over year. For the full year 2017, the market recorded more than $25.7 billion in revenue for a year-over-year growth rate of 5.4%.

Meanwhile, the worldwide total enterprise and service provider (SP) router market recorded just under $4.0 billion in revenue in 4Q17, increasing 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. For the full year 2017, the router market finished at $15.2 billion, an increase of 4.0% over 2016. These results are according to new data from the IDC (www.idc.com) research group.

The worldwide enterprise wireless local area network (WLAN) market grew 6.5% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17) with revenues of $1.5 billion, according to IDC (www.idc.com).

Enterprise WLAN growth for the full year 2017 was 5.7% with $5.7 billion in revenues, notes the research group. The combined enterprise and consumer markets decreased 0.3% year over year in 4Q17, but rose 0.2% for the full year 2017, indicating the market for consumer-grade WLAN remains weak.

In 4Q17, the 802.11ac standard accounted for 83% of dependent access point unit shipments and 94% of dependent access point revenues. For the full year 2017, the 802.11ac standard made up 80% of dependent access point shipments and 91% of revenues. This trend indicates that the 802.11n standard will be nearly obsolete by the end of 2018 in the mainstream enterprise WLAN segment.

Aspen Technology (www.aspentech.com), an asset optimization software company, has announced the results of a recent survey of over 400 energy industry managers and executives about the impact of analytics and big data on the energy business in the next 24 months. The data confirmed that improving reliability is the key objective for upstream and downstream companies as well as the engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) firms that serve them.

To achieve greater asset availability and utilization, organizations are undertaking digital transformation initiatives that use advanced analytics and machine learning to drive significant increases in asset reliability and performance. Survey respondents indicate clear and compelling interest in the potential of analytics to drive operational excellence.

Forty percent of companies believe that digitalization can save 16% or more in operating expenses (...

According to the latest forecast from IDC (www.idc.com), global shipments of personal computing devices (PCDs) – composed of traditional PCs (desktop, notebooks and workstations) and tablets (slate and detachable) – declined 2.7% year over year in 2017.

The results illustrate a year in which commercial PC renewal momentum remained as the main catalyst in a market that was also tempered by lackluster demand for legacy form factor devices and component shortages, according to the research group. Nevertheless, key metrics including commercial activity and notebook shipments all reached positive growth patterns due to some emerging region recovery and ongoing business PC refresh.

Within the PCD market, traditional PCs are forecast to contract at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -0.9% over the 2017-2022 forecast, with volumes dropping from 259.4 million in 2017 to 248.3 million in 2022. However, when adding in...

Voice shopping is expected to jump to $40 billion in 2022, up from $2 billion today, suggesting the new channel may well be the next major disruptive force in retail, according to data from OC&C Strategy Consultants.

The survey showed growth in the voice segment will be driven by a surge in the number of homes using smart speakers, rising to 55% from 13% percent today. Meanwhile, Amazon is poised to dominate the new channel with the largest market share, currently more than twice that of its nearest competitor. Among other key findings of the study:

° Three tech behemoths lead the virtual assistant AI space in the US – Amazon's Echo has 10% penetration of US homes; Google's Home, 4%, and Microsoft's Cortana, 2%.

° Apple has been left behind. Siri lacks the AI capabilities of Google, while their HomePod has only just hit the market.

° Only 39% of consumers trust in the "personalized" product selection of smart speakers.

Dresner Advisory Services (www.enduserdataprep.com) has published the 2018 End User Data Preparation Market Study, part of the Wisdom of Crowds series of research. The fourth annual report addresses user perceptions, trends, and intentions surrounding end user data preparation, defined as a self-service capability for end users to combine, model, and prepare data prior to analysis.

The annual study examines end user requirements including usability, integration, and manipulation features, as well as output and deployment options. It also considers current and planned industry support for end user data preparation functionality.

Among technologies and initiatives strategic to business intelligence in 2018, end user data preparation ranks in the top half of the 33 topics under study, and one place up from the previous year’s report. While end user data preparation trails traditional topics...

New connected car research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) finds 57% of U.S. broadband households are interested in voice control features for their car, with interest highest among consumers who already own smart speakers or use voice recognition on their smartphones. The research group notes that interest in voice control is particularly high among consumers planning to buy a car soon.

"Roughly one-fourth of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a new vehicle in the next 12 months, and more than 75% of these car shoppers are interested in voice control as a feature," said Kristen Hanich, research analyst, Parks Associates. "The popularity of smart speakers with voice-based assistants is spilling over into the auto industry, and already 5% of car owners have some type of voice control in their car.”

Parks Associates predicts that beyond traditional use cases such as mapping...

Blancco Technology Group (www.blancco.com), which specializes in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics, has issued a new mobile report designed especially for mobile processors, call centers and resellers. It’s based on data collected from iOS and Android mobile devices that were brought in to mobile carriers and device manufacturers for diagnostics tests and mobile erasure in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia from Oct. 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2017. Highlights from the report include:

° Approximately 30.5%of Android devices that underwent the Blancco mobile device erasure process in Q4 2-17 were running Android versions from 2013 or earlier. Meanwhile, of the iOS models wiped during this testing period (88.83%) were running the latest iOS 11 update.

° To address the different erasure needs required by various Android devices, our data shows that most Blancco customers are using secure, software-...

On Feb. 22, the Federal Communications Commission published its repeal of the Open Internet Order (which was created in 2015 during President Obama’s term). It is a decision that will have a far-reaching impact on nearly every industry.

“The posting of this new order on the FCC web site may seem like it means that net neutrality is doomed, but actually it means the legal floodgates are open and that corporations and government officials can now take action to stop the repeal,” says Marcus Harris (https://softwarenegotiation.com), software litigation attorney. “We can also expect Congress to possibly get involved, and they have until April 23 to do so. Meanwhile, in the Senate, politicians are still battling to stop the FCC’s decision, but the House will likely keep them from doing so once the bill moves to them.”

Bad news for the iPhone X continues to hit the ‘Net--both by way of fact and rumour. Apple has severely scaled back its orders for displays from Samsung--indicative of the ongoing disappointing sales of the X.
The falldown is extensive. Samsung will now have surplus capacity and can both use those displays itself and sell them to Apple's competition, who will in turn retail phones challenging the X but at much lower price points. They won't make as much money, but will further erode Apple's market share. When one factors in the near saturated state of the market, one should look for impaired earnings at Apple's next report.

Further rumours have it, however, that Apple will introduce as many as three phone models this year--likely an 8s, a new premium model as a replacement for the X, and a 9?? Enough to save the bottom line? Only maybe. Perhaps Apple should consider making its own displays instead of buying...

A new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) estimates that over two billion users will access retail banking services via smartphones, tablets, PCs and smartwatches in 2018, up 10% year-over-year.

The research group found that accelerated adoption in key emerging markets such as India and China means that mobile banking users now represent 50% of the global banked population. Juniper expects that the number of global mobile banking users will now overtake online users in 2018, two years earlier than previously anticipated.

2017 saw banks worldwide engaging in both technology investments and new tech offerings, although the extent of these activities varied considerably. Juniper analyzed leading tier-1 banks to evaluate their digital transformation readiness scores and highlight their respective positioning within the digital innovation roadmap.

Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Ryan Costello (R-PA) have introduced a bipartisan bill, the Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act, to require the Bureau of Economic Analysis to conduct a study of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on the U.S. economy.

The legislation empowers policymakers to make more informed decisions about broadband, connecting underserved communities and keeping America competitive in a digital world.

The internet is an integral component of our country’s economy and infrastructure. Expanding access to quality broadband internet is a potential driver for development and progress. However, despite its importance, the Federal government does not currently measure the impact of broadband on the U.S. economy, as it does for many other industries. The lack of current, reliable, and accurate data diminishes the decision-making ability of policymakers, business leaders, research...

When embarking on a digital business transformation, too often organizations ignore the need to change the mindset of their staff, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). A technology shift not backed up by a corresponding cultural shift puts the success of a digital business initiative at risk.

"For any transformation to be successful, people need to buy into your vision," said Aashish Gupta, research analyst at Gartner. "The culture aspect and the technology demand equal attention from the application leader, because culture will form the backbone of all change initiatives for their digital business transformation. Staff trapped in a "fixed" mindset may slow down or, worse, derail the digital business transformation initiatives of the company.”

While every organization has its own unique culture, it must understand the nuance of attracting and retaining talent with values and mindsets aligned to the...

The worldwide hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market increased 1.2% year over year to nearly 28.1 million units in the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17), according IDC (www.idc.com).

The growth was driven by a solid performance in the inkjet market, which grew 3.3% year-over-year, adds the research group. Shipment value, on the other hand, decreased 1.0% year over year to $13.7 billion in the quarter.

Three out of the top five companies saw year-over-year shipment growth in 4Q17, with Epson leading the way at 12.2%, followed by Brother at 5.2% and Canon Group's 1.4%. Top-ranked HP Inc. recorded a year-over-year decline of 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17). For the full year 2017, HP's shipments of more than 39 million units remained unchanged from 2016 while Epson, Brother, and Canon Group posted positive year-over-year growth of 4.6%, 3.6%, and 1.3%, respectively.

Over one-third of all security incidents start with phishing emails or malicious attachments sent to company employees, according to a new report published by global cyber security company F-Secure (www.f-secure.com).

F-Secure’s new Incident Response Report summarizes findings from the firm’s incident response investigations and provides insights into how real hackers attack organizations. The single most common source of breaches analyzed in the report was attackers exploiting vulnerabilities in an organization’s internet facing services, which accounted for about 21% of security incidents investigated by F-Secure’s incident responders.

However, phishing and emails with malicious attachments together accounted for about 34 % of breaches. F-Secure Principal Security Consultant Tom Van de Wiele sayid this make attacks arriving via email a much bigger pain point for organizations.

Twenty-five percent of customer service and support operations will integrate virtual customer assistant (VCA) or chatbot technology across engagement channels by 2020, up from less than two percent in 2017, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

Speaking at the Gartner Customer Experience Summit in Tokyo earlier this week, Gene Alvarez, managing vice president at the research group, said more than half of organizations have already invested in VCAs for customer service, as they realize the advantages of automated self-service, together with the ability to escalate to a human agent in complex situations.

"As more customers engage on digital channels, VCAs are being implemented for handling customer requests on websites, mobile apps, consumer messaging apps and social networks," he said. "This is underpinned by improvements in natural-language processing, machine learning and intent-matching...

Worldwide spending on the technologies that enable smart cities initiatives is forecast to reach $80 billion in 2018, according to the IDC (www.idc.com) research group.

"Smart cities have recently evolved from a collection of discrete flagship projects to a sizeable market opportunity that will drive significant technology investments in 2018 and beyond," said Serena Da Rold, program manager in IDC's Customer Insights & Analysis Group. "IDC believes that the strategic priorities we identified will drive digital transformation across cities of all sizes, but our research demonstrates that there can be significant differences in the focus of investments across regions. The new spending guide is a powerful tool to help vendors identify where the best opportunities lie for each specific use case now and over the next several years.”

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that the value of consumer spend on remote payments for digital and physical goods will surpass $3.3 trillion this year, up 10% on 2017’s total of $3 trillion.

The research group says alternative payment mechanisms would comprise an ever increasing proportion of online spend. PayPal already accounts for 20% of mobile and online physical goods transactions made outside China, while the success of Alipay and Weixin Pay within China means that these two players combined now account for 45% of global payment volumes.

The research also highlighted the major pain points for merchants and consumers. Juniper says European merchants needed to be aware of the implications of PSD2 on card-on-file, meaning they would need to be ‘white-listed’ by consumers for payment details to be stored. Indeed, CA (Secure Customer Authentication)...

Verto Analytics (http://vertoanalytics.com), a consumer-centric audience measurement company, has released a new report that provides contextual and granular insight into today’s cross-device consumer online shopping behavior along with factors that shape their buying journey.

With the proliferation of online shopping, fueled increasingly by mobile devices and integrated advertising within social media platforms, retailers are tapping into e-commerce sales now more than ever before. The National Retail Federation projects online retail sales will grow between 10 and 12% this year.

Verto’s report used its existing cross-device consumer-centric audience measurement methodology, analyzing a representative panel of U.S. consumers (ages 18 and above) in December 2017, tracking their behavior as it relates to cross-device online shopping and the path to purchase, to show what consumers are doing as...

Meaningful artificial intelligence (AI) deployments are just beginning to take place, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). The research group’s 2018 CIO Agenda Survey shows that 4% of CIOs have implemented AI, while a further 46% have developed plans to do so.

"Despite huge levels of interest in AI technologies, current implementations remain at quite low levels," said Whit Andrews, research vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "However, there is potential for strong growth as CIOs begin piloting AI programs through a combination of buy, build and outsource efforts."

As with most emerging or unfamiliar technologies, early adopters are facing many obstacles to the progress of AI in their organizations. For instance, Gartner predicts that by 2020, 20% of organizations will dedicate workers to monitoring and guiding neural networks.

IDC (www.idc.com) forecasts total IT spending by small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) to be nearly $602 billion in 2018, an increase of 4.9% over 2017.

With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% for the 2016-2021 forecast period, spending by businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees on IT hardware, software, and services, including business services, is expected to reach $684 billion on in 2021, notes the research group.

Mid-market firms will account for the largest share of total SMB IT spending even though they are farther along in technology deployment than small businesses. Over two thirds of global SMB IT spending will be driven by firms with 100-999 employees through 2021. Within the mid-market segment, medium-sized businesses (100-499 employees) will spend $229 billion this year, while large businesses (500-999 employees) will spend $182 billion. Both groups will experience similar growth over the...

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that a combination of increased uptake in digital products, coupled with new, positive regulation, will drive a surge in online gambling wagers.

The research group adds that they will reach a total of $1 trillion globally in 2022, more than the annual deficit being added to US national debt; total online wagers are expected to reach $700 billion this year, up from just over $620 billion in 2017.

Juniper says the online casino industry will drive a surge in wagers placed digitally, with this segment comprising over 40% of online wagers by 2022. This growth in the casino market will be aided by new technologies.

“We believe new channels, such as chatbots, have the potential to drive customer engagement, through delivery of personalized offers, alongside 24/7 player support,” says research author Lauren Foye.

According to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce (www.trendforce.com) the DRAM revenue for the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17) grew by 14.2% qurater-over-quarter (QoQ) to a new high, and the DRAM revenue for the entire 2017 grew by 76% year-over-year (YoY).

The main reasons are the rising mobile DRAM prices and opportunities provided by the year-end busy season and the releases of new flagship smartphones in 4Q17, according to the research group. Samsung in particular led the charge in hiking up the quotes of mobile DRAM products.

Depending on density specifications, prices of mobile DRAM products rose by 5-20% QoQ in 4Q17. DRAM products of other application types also saw price increases in the range of 5-10% QoQ in 4Q17.

“As for 1Q18, the latest survey of PC DRAM contracts for 1Q18 reveals that the PC DRAM prices set by the top three suppliers in January were on average US$33, showing a 5%...

Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults who use a smartphone have at least one financial app, according to a new Bankrate.com report. The average smartphone user has 2.5 financial apps. Among millennials (18-37 year-olds), the average is 3.6. It drops to 2.3 for Gen X (ages 38-53) and 1.4 for Baby Boomers (ages 54-72).

The most common financial apps are full-service banking apps; 55% of U.S. adults who have a smartphone have at least one full-service banking app, including 23% who have at least two.

Peer-to-peer payments apps (such as Venmo, PayPal and Square Cash) are the second most common. 41% of smartphone users have at least one of these and 15% have more than one.

Standalone budgeting and investing apps are less common; they can be found on just 18% and 17% of smartphones, respectively. Mint, Clarity Money and Wally are among the best-known budgeting apps. Stash, Acorns and Betterment are popular for investing.

The way consumers globally pay is changing, according to Market News Update (www.marketnewsupdate.com). As shopping habits evolve, e-commerce and m-commerce methods such as in-app and one-click ordering are becoming increasingly popular.

In addition, the exponential growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) is introducing a wealth of new payment use-applications, says Market News Update. The promise of frictionless, secure transactions in real time from any payment device (be it a kiosk, smartphone, computer or payment terminal) is one that gives the consumer complete control over their purchasing experience, adds the research group.

Electronic wallets and mobile ecommerce are continually gaining popularity due to rise of easy to use mobile apps while the market is driven by tech firms introducing new and secure devices and applications and by banks developing their own apps and providing on...

A new research report from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) forecasts that specialized fitness wearables integrated into clothing and ear-based “hearables” will grow from an expected 4.5 million shipped in 2018 to nearly 30 million in 2022, an increase of more than 550%. By contrast, conventional activity tracker shipments will only grow by 20% in that time, according to the research group.

The new research found that as growth in basic trackers has slowed, session specific wearables, for example those monitoring gym or training sessions, have multiplied. Devices from companies like Under Armour, Sensoria, Gymwatch, Atlas and Jabra provide more granular metrics, without the additional messaging and call-handling functions of more general wearables.

Juniper says that the key battleground for fitness wearables is now data, which will ultimately become device-agnostic, thanks to...

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that banking RPA (robotic process automation) software and services revenue will reach close to $900 million by 2022. The research group expects the market value, estimated at $214 million in 2018, to expand over four times by 2022.

RPA was traditionally limited to replicating simple or repetitive tasks that require high accuracy, such as data entry. The market currently represents a ‘perfect storm’ created by the convergence of chatbots, AI-driven RPA software and banks’ digital transformation strategies. Juniper found that this has created renewed interest in RPA for financial services, driving market spending.

The research found that where AI is combined with automation tools, the potential for RPA in the banking industry is far-reaching. Use cases include compliance, digital on-boarding, and personalized cross- or upsell...

The worldwide cloud infrastructure services market grew 46% year on year in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2017 to reach $16 billion. This brought 2017’s full-year growth to 45%, according to Canalys (www.canalys.com).

Amazon Web Services (AWS) remained the leading vendor for the quarter, accounting for 32% of the total worldwide market, notes the research group. Microsoft, Google and IBM also held their positions among the largest global cloud service providers, representing 14%, 8% and 4% of the market respectively.

The top four’s dominance grew, driven by their robust performances during the quarter. Microsoft (up 98%) grew the most, while Google (up 85%), AWS (up 45%) and IBM (up 9%) maintained momentum. Canalys expects the cloud market to keep growing in 2018, but there will be challenges ahead.

“2018 will be a disruptive year for the cloud infrastructure services market, which will affect the leading...

A worldwide survey* of 196 organizations by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com) showed that 91% of organizations have not yet reached a "transformational" level of maturity in data and analytics, despite this area being a number one investment priority for CIOs in recent years.

"Most organizations should be doing better with data and analytics, given the potential benefits," said Nick Heudecker, research vice president at Gartner. "Organizations at transformational levels of maturity enjoy increased agility, better integration with partners and suppliers, and easier use of advanced predictive and prescriptive forms of analytics. This all translates to competitive advantage and differentiation.”

The global survey asked respondents to rate their organizations according to Gartner's five levels of maturity for data and analytics. It found that 60% of respondents worldwide rated themselves in the lowest three levels...

The worldwide cloud infrastructure services market grew 46% year on year in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2017 to reach $16 billion.

According to Canalys (www.canalys.com), this brought 2017’s full-year growth to 45%. Amazon Web Services (AWS) remained the leading vendor for the quarter, accounting for 32% of the total worldwide market. Microsoft, Google and IBM also held their positions among the largest global cloud service providers, representing 14%, 8% and 4% of the market respectively.

The top four’s dominance grew, driven by their robust performances during the quarter. Microsoft (up 98%) grew the most, while Google (up 85%), AWS (up 45%) and IBM (up 9%) maintained momentum. Canalys expects the cloud market to keep growing in 2018, but there will be challenges ahead.

“2018 will be a disruptive year for the cloud infrastructure services market, which will affect the leading vendors’ costs,” said...

Worldwide spending on information and communications technology (ICT) will be nearly $4.0 trillion in 2018, according to new data from IDC (www.idc.com).

The explosive growth of smartphones in recent years means that consumer spending will account for the largest proportion of that total, but growth will be driven by enterprise spending on cloud, software and infrastructure related to third platform solutions, according to the research group.

IDC says the consumer market will account for more than $1.5 trillion in ICT spending in 2018 and will deliver more than one third of all worldwide spending throughout the forecast. Consumer spending will also experience the slowest growth over the forecast period with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 1.2%. Roughly 80% of consumer spending will go to devices and mobile telecom services.

Asigra (www.asigra.com), a cloud backup, recovery and restore software provider, has announced that new forecasts from a trio of market research firms -- Stratistics MRC, CMI, and MarketResearch -- predict continued category adoption and growth in the cloud backup space.

Stratistics MRC recently reported that the global cloud backup market could balloon as high as $5.5 billion by 2023 with a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 24.2 percent, up from $1.2 billion in 2016. The primary drivers of growth for this category included large amounts of generated data, increasing adoption of SaaS, lower costs, and increased capabilities/efficiencies.

A separate report from CMI suggests that the global cloud backup market is on track to have reached $1.3 billion by the end of 2017—with a projected CAGR of over 22 percent between 2017 and 2025—to potentially surpass US$ 6.4 billion by 2025. CMI reported...

Jonathan Berent, L.C.S.W., author of "Beyond Shyness" (Simon & Schuster) and "Work Makes Me Nervous" (Wiley), whose work is showcased on socialanxiety.com, has identified technology addiction as the gateway to an alternate reality for individuals of all ages afflicted with social anxiety and avoidant personality.

Berent explains: "The fact that texting has replaced talking as the most common form of communication characterizes a societal shutdown of the neural pathways required for verbal communication specifically, and social skills in general. Society's massive and rapidly developing technology dependence is enabling a dramatic increase in selective mutism, which is a variation of obsessive compulsive disorder and a speaking phobia. Using technology to communicate rather than talking has become a way of life for many.”

Current statistics put selective mutism as occurring in 7 out of 1000 children.

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that global retailer spending on AI (artificial intelligence) will reach $7.3 billion per annum by 2022, up from an estimated $2 billion in 2018, as retailers target new avenues to increase personalization of the customer experience.

The research group found that retailers will heavily invest in AI tools that allow them to differentiate and improve the services they offer customers. These range from automated marketing platforms that generate tailored, timely offers, to chatbots that provide instant customer service.

Juniper’s latest research found that spending will be strongest in customer service and sentiment analytics, where AI can be applied to understand customer reaction to the products purchased and the service received. This will prove to be a key tool for retailers seeking to improve their customer experience...

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) finds that advertising spend on FVOD (Free Video on Demand) content, such as media on YouTube and Facebook, will surge over the next 5 years, reaching $37 billion by 2022. This is up from an estimated $16 billion in 2017. In addition, unique users of such content will reach just under 4.5 billion globally by 2022, as the appetite for free video media continues its expanse, adds the research group.

Juniper found that leading FVOD provider YouTube, which sees over one billion hours watched per day, will face increasing competition from social media platforms. It observed that the delivery of live video content via social media channels will be one of the growth areas for 2018, as users increase the volume of live broadcast content posted to these platforms. Such examples include Instagram, which has over 800 million monthly active users, and...

Android devices have recently been under fire for the lack of security provided to their users. For example, it was revealed that the Lebanese Security Agency has been implanting fake apps into Android users’ phones. That allowed the agency to follow people in many countries – journalists, activists, military members and others.

In addition, it was found that three quarters of all Android devices were running on security patches at least two months old, posing risks to the users.

Users can take certain steps to take Android device security into their own hands. Here are four tips from NordVPN (www.nordvpn.com) on how to keep your Android phone safe:

1. Make sure not to download fake apps – do not click on phishing messages. Some original apps from Google Play may have trackers that sell users’ data to advertisers. However, even more dangerous are fake apps – like those that are...

Well, it has happened before...back in '83. See, from a feature point of view, the iPhone 8 look doomed beside the X. But price points do come into play in such matters. Apple is curtailing the production of the X, and the Spy assumes it will be discontinued once the X year is done.

As the physician said to the 12-year old Spy when he came into his office looking like scarlet fever: "Allergic to the phenobarb, eh? Well, back to the old drawing board. Somehow anniversary special products just don't do well. Are they too hastily conceived?

Wrong about grammar

A local radio ad grats on the Spy every time (often!) he hears it. It's a plug to take out a second mortgage on one's home equity for immediate spending wants (high interest contract no doubt, and very high risk behaviour) that ends with "our criteria is less strict". Has no one ever been told about singular and plural noun-verb agreements? And don'...

More than half of business teams of all sizes are seeing productivity gains of over 40%, according to the findings of a new report from FileMaker, Inc. (www.filemaker.com). The company's third annual State of the Custom App Report, released today, examines how businesses are harnessing digital transformation and reducing inefficiencies with custom apps.

The global report sheds light on the ways custom apps are driving better, stronger end-results while improving the process of work. The report found that custom apps are being used in a wide variety of ways to help teams accomplish their business goals by streamlining workloads.

These tools don't require prior coding experience and provide users with the flexibility and customizability that pre-packaged software typically lacks. Other

° Custom apps are quick to build – 72%of businesses had their apps up and running in under six months.

New data from Alteryx (www.alteryx.com) says data professionals are wasting half of their time each week finding, protecting, or preparing data —costing organizations significant amounts of money. The study is based on a survey of 400-plus individuals performing data functions across North America and Europe.

Despite massive growth in data analytics demand globally, this new study shows that there is still much work to be done for organizations to get the most of their data assets and infrastructures, particularly when it comes to data discovery and cataloging, according to the analytics platform. Data professionals are spending more time governing, searching and preparing data than they are on extracting business value. Among the findings:

° Data professionals spend 60% of their time getting to insight, but just 27% of that time is spent on actual analysis. Instead, 37% of that “getting to insight” time is...

Software Updates via MacUpdate

BetterTouchTool adds many new, fully customizable gestures to the Magic Mouse, Multi-Touch MacBook trackpad, and Magic Trackpad.
These gestures are customizable:
Magic Mouse:
Pinch in / out (zoom... Read more

Tor Browser Bundle 7.5.2 - Anonymize Web...

The Tor Browser Bundle is an easy-to-use portable package of Tor, Vidalia, Torbutton, and a Firefox fork preconfigured to work together out of the box. It contains a modified copy of Firefox that... Read more

Monosnap 3.4.11 - Versatile screenshot u...

Monosnap lets you capture screenshots, share files, and record video and .gifs!
Features
Capture
Capture full screen, just part of the screen, or a selected window
Make your crop area pixel... Read more

Yummy FTP Pro 2.0.3 - $29.99

Yummy FTP Pro is an advanced Mac file transfer app which provides a full-featured professional toolkit combined with blazing speeds and impeccable reliability, so whether you want to transfer a few... Read more

Smultron 10.1.3 - Easy-to-use, powerful...

Smultron 10 is an elegant and powerful text editor that is easy to use. You can use Smultron 10 to create or edit any text document. Everything from a web page, a note or a script to any single piece... Read more

Time Out 2.4 - Break reminder tool with...

Time Out helps remind you to take work breaks throughout the day. It has two kinds of breaks: a "Normal" break, typically for 10 minutes after 50 minutes of work, so you can move about and relax,... Read more

Iridient Developer 3.2.2 - Powerful imag...

Iridient Developer (was RAW Developer) is a powerful image-conversion application designed specifically for OS X. Iridient Developer gives advanced photographers total control over every aspect of... Read more

DesktopLyrics 2.6.13 - Displays current...

DesktopLyrics is an application that displays the lyrics of the song currently playing in "iTunes" right on your desktop. The lyrics for the song have to be set in iTunes; DesktopLyrics does nothing... Read more

BusyContacts 1.2.8 - Fast, efficient con...

BusyContacts is a contact manager for OS X that makes creating, finding, and managing contacts faster and more efficient. It brings to contact management the same power, flexibility, and sharing... Read more

iClock 4.2.5 - Customizable menu bar clo...

iClock replaces the old Apple's default menu bar clock with more features, customization and increases your productivity.
Features:
Have your Apple or Google calendar instantly available from the... Read more

Latest Forum Discussions

How PUBG, Fortnite, and the battle royal...

The history of the battle royale genre isn't a long one. While the nascent parts of the experience have existed ever since players first started killing one another online, it's really only in the past six years that the genre has coalesced into... | Read more »

Around the Empire: What have you missed...

Oh hi nice reader, and thanks for popping in to check out our weekly round-up of all the stuff that you might have missed across the Steel Media network. Yeah, that's right, it's a big ol' network. Obviously 148Apps is the best, but there are some... | Read more »

All the best games on sale for iPhone an...

It might not have been the greatest week for new releases on the App Store, but don't let that get you down, because there are some truly incredible games on sale for iPhone and iPad right now. Seriously, you could buy anything on this list and I... | Read more »

Everything You Need to Know About The Fo...

In just over a week, Epic Games has made a flurry of announcements. First, they revealed that Fortnite—their ultra-popular PUBG competitor—is coming to mobile. This was followed by brief sign-up period for interested beta testers before sending out... | Read more »

The best games that came out for iPhone...

It's not been the best week for games on the App Store. There are a few decent ones here and there, but nothing that's really going to make you throw down what you're doing and run to the nearest WiFi hotspot in order to download it. That's not to... | Read more »

Death Coming (Games)

Death Coming 1.1.1.536
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Games
Price: $1.99, Version: 1.1.1.536 (iTunes)
Description:
--- Background Story ---You Died. Pure and simple, but death was not the end. You have become an agent of Death: a... | Read more »

Hints, tips, and tricks for Empires and...

Empires and Puzzles is a slick match-stuff RPG that mixes in a bunch of city-building aspects to keep things fresh. And it's currently the Game of the Day over on the App Store. So, if you're picking it up for the first time today, we thought it'd... | Read more »

What You Need to Know About Sam Barlow’s...

Sam Barlow’s follow up to Her Story is #WarGames, an interactive video series that reimagines the 1983 film WarGames in a more present day context. It’s not exactly a game, but it’s definitely still interesting. Here are the top things you should... | Read more »

Pixel Plex Guide - How to Build Better T...

Pixel Plex is the latest city builder that has come to the App Store, and it takes a pretty different tact than the ones that came before it. Instead of being in charge of your own city by yourself, you have to work together with other players to... | Read more »

Fortnite Will Be Better Than PUBG on Mob...

Before last week, if you asked me which game I prefer between Fortnite Battle Royale and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), I’d choose the latter just about 100% of the time. Now that we know that both games are primed to hit our mobile screens... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

MacBook Pro sale! B&H drops prices on new...

B&H Photo has dropped prices on new 2017 13″ MacBook Pros, with models now on sale for up to $200 off MSRP. Shipping is free, and B&H charges sales tax for NY & NJ residents only. Their... Read more

B&H Photo has the 1.4GHz Mac mini on sale for $399 for a limited time. Their price is $100 off MSRP, and it’s the lowest price available for a mini from any Apple reseller:
– 1.4GHz Mac mini (... Read more

Apple has a full line of Certified Refurbished iMacs available for up to $350 off original MSRP. Apple’s one-year warranty is standard, and shipping is free. The following models are available:
– 27... Read more

MacTech is a registered trademark of Xplain Corporation. Xplain, "The journal of Apple technology", Apple Expo, Explain It, MacDev, MacDev-1, THINK Reference, NetProfessional, Apple Expo, MacTech Central, MacTech Domains, MacNews, MacForge, and the MacTutorMan are trademarks or service marks of Xplain Corporation. Sprocket is a registered trademark of eSprocket Corporation. Other trademarks and copyrights appearing in this printing or software remain the property of their respective holders. Not responsible for typographical errors.

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.